Mumbai The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to celebrate 75th birthday of its senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal on a grand scale. Besides NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, are among others who have been invited for the big event scheduled in Mumbai on Thursday.
A former deputy chief minister, Bhujbal is among the first rung leaders in the NCP and is also known as Other Backward Class (OBC) face of the party. He was one of the senior ministers in the esrtwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.
“He is one of most senior leaders of the party and thus the party leadership wanted to celebrate his 75th birthday with much fanfare. Several senior political leaders from the country were invited for the birthday celebrations but some could not make it owing to prior engagements,” said an NCP leader wishing to remain anonymous.
Among those who will not make it are chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Bhujbal started his career from Shiv Sena, but quit in 1991 over the issue of reservation to OBCs and was later involved in a bitter tussle with Sena chief Bal Thackeray. He even made a bid to arrest him in connection with Mumbai riots.
The NCP leader is also known for several controversies such as Telgi scam and Maharashtra Sadan scam. In March 2016, Bhujbal was arrested by the enforcement directorate over money laundering charges. He was in jail for the next two years.